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How To Get My 8, 9 or 10 Week Old To Sleep

Can you believe it!? Your little one is now 2 months old and beginning to really take notice of the world! As exciting as it is to see your baby LIGHT UP when you introduce a new toy… have you ever complained your baby “just can’t seem to settle to sleep now that they’re so aware”? For a lot of parents, sleep-deprivation really begins to take its toll after the first 8 weeks, whether or not your baby is sleeping “fine” at 5, 6, or 7 weeks old. Around this time, some babies begin waking up even more often at night or needing to be rocked/bounced/walked/fed longer and longer before they can be put down without POPPING wide awake! Not to worry, we’ve been there and we have just the tips to help you navigate this bleary-eyed stage of parenting. 🙂

Let’s take a look at the 6 steps to help your 8, 9 or 10 week old baby sleep.

In those first few weeks when all your baby did was SLEEP you probably wondered, “When will my baby start staying awake longer during the day?” And, now, you may be asking yourself, “When will my baby begin sleeping longer at night?” Whether your baby suddenly cannot nap anywhere other than your arms or wakes up frequently at night, you are not alone! And, we have the keys to getting your 8, 9 or 10 week old (and YOU) the best sleep possible!

How To Get My 8, 9 or 10 Week Old To Sleep At-a-Glance

Develop a consistent sleep routine

Review your baby’s schedule

Consider gentle sleep coaching/training

Create a sleep plan for your family

Gather support from your village

Prepare for the next sleep speedbump

And, now for a few details…

1. Develop a sleep routine for your 8, 9 or 10 week old

Setting the environment for sleep is crucial and part of cuing your baby it’s time for sleep is to have a consistent set of steps you do each sleep period, at night and at nap times. The sleep routine should be short and sweet at this age. For example, dim lights, close curtains, change your baby’s diaper, sing 1-2 lullabies, nurse or offer a bottle, cuddle the baby for a few minutes while burping, and then lay your baby down for sleep while saying a key phrase (e.g. “I love you. Time for sleep. Night night.”). The younger your baby, the shorter the routine should be. After all, 2 month old’s have very short awake periods and if we miss their sleep window, LOOK OUT!

2. Review your 8, 9 or 10 week old’s schedule

Don’t have a schedule yet? Now’s the time to start thinking about how to form a loose sleep schedule for your baby. It’s unrealistic to expect 100% consistency from your baby at this age, but you should be able to predict at least what time your baby will wake for the day (within 30 minutes plus/minus), when the first nap will begin, and perhaps bedtime. Families, depending on their situation, can’t always stick to a set schedule as well as others, but just do your best. What type of schedule you ask? Check out our sample schedules here or make your own custom schedule!

If the previous steps haven’t significantly improved your 8, 9 or 10 week old’s sleep and you’ve downloaded our free e-Book, 5 Ways to Help Your Child Sleep through the Night, it’s likely your baby has sleep associations that need to be resolved with gentle sleep training. Ideally, you’d get a professional assessment of your baby’s sleep challenges, but if you feel certain a dependence on parental help is part of the issue, then you may want to consider gently sleep coaching your baby towards more independent sleep. This essentially involves helping your baby learn to fall asleep with less help from you – overtime and with plenty of reassurance and comfort from you along the way. Given your baby’s age and our experience, however, we do feel strongly this should be done using a very hands-on, gentle sleep coaching method which limits crying.

4. Create a plan for your 8, 9 or 10 week old

If you’re considering gentle sleep training, you need to figure out what to do next. Some of us are planners and others simply “wing it.” If you’re not a planner, you can certainly skip this step, but if you’ve been trying to help your 8, 9 or 10 week old sleep for awhile now, you’ve developed a routine, reviewed the schedule recommendations for 2 month olds and plugging along without a set strategy isn’t working out so well, maybe a plan is just what you’re missing. After all, it’s hard to know how to get to where you’re going without a travel plan. Make the plan as detailed as you want it, but having a step-by-step plan helps you stay on track, committed, and consistent. Not sure where to begin or need help creating your baby’s sleep plan? Consider making your own sleep plan or letting us create a Personalized Sleep Plan™ for you and your baby.

5. Get support for your 8, 9 or 10 week old’s parents (you!)

We hear everywhere that “it takes a village” to raise a child, but gone seem to be the days where we have a lot of help nurturing our babies. I don’t know about you, but my mom came out for one week when my first baby was a newborn, but that was about it. My husband and I were largely on our own. No Aunts to regularly hold the baby while I took a nap or enjoyed a (hopefully hot) meal. So, getting through this 8, 9 or 10 week old trouble spot can be tough without support. We sometimes have to recruit our own village. Consider hiring a sleep consultant or asking your partner, friends, or family members to help you implement your sleep plan. Having a support system in place can make all the difference in the world in reaching your sleep goals!

6. Prepare for your 8, 9 or 10 week old’s next speedbump

Whether you’ve already made some progress getting your 8, 9 or 10 week old to sleep or you’re just beginning your research into helping your baby sleep, it’s important to never lose sight of “what’s next.” Why? Because babies are constantly changing! So be prepared and make sure you plan ahead, and have a game plan in place, before the next sleep regression or speedbump emerges. Around 4 months old your baby may experience their first sleep regression. What’s a “sleep regression” you ask? Now’s the time to begin thinking about how you’ll help your baby through any potential setbacks (teething, travel, and illness are BIG ones!) – sometimes the key to overcoming or even avoiding setbacks is understanding when they are likely to happen and having a plan in place for how you’ll get through them!

Need Newborn Sleep Help? We Have the Resources You Need!

If you are tired of wading through stacks of baby sleep books that just aren't working, if you are beyond exhausted and just can't solve your newborn's sleep problems on your own...than personalized sleep consulting is for you. Our team of expert consultants will create a Personalized Sleep Plan® just for your family and then support you through every step of implementing your plan. We encourage you to consider our personalized, one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultation packages if you want to see real, meaningful results now. Your consultation package also includes ample follow-up help, designed to help you troubleshoot problems and tweak your plan as needed.

For even more help getting your newborn baby to sleep, check out our e-Book, Essential Keys to Your Newborn's Sleep. At over 90 pages long (and containing a variety of sample schedules for breastfed and formula-fed babies from birth - 16 weeks), this e-Book truly is a one-stop resource designed to help your newborn establish healthy sleep habits, right from birth. Whether you're a brand new parent or an experienced parents who needs to brush up newborn sleep basics, Essential Keys To Your Newborn's Sleep is a comprehensive and budget-friendly resource that will provide the information you need to work towards excellent sleep for your whole family, from day one. Grab your copy today!

Or, join our Members Area that will grow with your family. It's packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more and actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a member, you'll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant. And the best part - members receive 20% off all sleep consultation services! This is a resource that will truly grow with your child: it'll help you through the newborn phase and prepare you for the months ahead.

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Comments

Lolasays

Wish I had seen this site before i started sleep training. Didn’t even know there was a gentle sleep training method. All the others, just say awake but drowsy, and all, but they never say how to sleep train a baby during certain weeks.

I am sleep training my 10 week old baby, been doing it for 4 weeks now. Some days it works, some days it almost and other days, it doesn’t match. The issue I am having at the moment is that my son keeps fighting the 3rd and 4th nap of the day. So I tried to merge the two into one, so that he can wake the same times as the end of the 4th nap, but it’s a struggle. And it seems every week he keeps changing.

Is there anything I am doing wrong, how can I help him not resist naps.

P.s. I watch out for his sleep cues and try to get him down for a a nap as soon as I see the first yawn or the forst sign of fussiness. So why is it still a struggle?

Sigh. My baby boy is 10 weeks. He is amazing already hitting his milestone and even doing things for 3 months olds baby.

There is the issue with sleep. I started sleep training him, well sort of getting him into a routine form 6 weeks as I knew I would be all by myself with no family help from 10 weeks. The first 2 weeks of trying was sort of ok. But then it seems every week it becomes a little challenging than the week before.

I make sure I catch his sleep wi do a by watching out for cues, and then I risk did g a lullaby for naps with gentle pats on his back, and then use the PU/PD method to calm him down. Now it just seems it’s taking longer and longer.

I even tried rocking to drowsy, and he still protests when I am about to put him down. Even when he closes his eyes, I gently say his name, he opens his eyes and then I lay him down, some days it works, and some days it doesn’t.

It’s really challenging as I don’t know what each week will bring, and I am trying to be gentle in my approach and most importantly stay consistent.

I want to help him sleep better, hence why I started early, so that if he does have any regression, he can pull through it.

Please help me. I have a toddler who is almost 3 and also needs my attention. I don’t want to be cooped up all day attending to baby and letting my toddler feel left out.

Hi Lola,
Thank you for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling so much with your 10 week-old’s sleep. It can be really hard at this age. Unfortunately, most babies under 4 months-old are just not able to fall asleep by themselves without help from a parent, even when drowsy. I know it can be challenging to handle all of those naps on your own with a toddler in the house, but you can ask your pediatrician about baby wearing, or using something like a swing, to help calm baby so that nap times are easier. We also have this article with some ideas to help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/baby-toddler-sleep-schedule-juggling/
Good luck with everything, and hang in there!